The Lion Guard
Accessed 18 June 2015. |channel = Disney Junior |airdate = January 3, 2016 (USA) April 26, 2016 (Europe) }} The Lion Guard is an upcoming American animated television series that will premiere with a one-hour television film in November 2015, followed by a television series on Disney Junior on January 3, 2016. It will feature Kion, the son of Simba and Nala. Accessed 10 June 2014. Premise The Lion Guard follows Simba's son, Kion, as he assembles a group of animals to protect the Pride Lands known as the Lion Guard. Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter has described the series as being "kind of like The Lion King meets The Avengers." Accessed 11 June 2014. Accessed 11 June 2014. Characters * Kion (voiced by Max Charles) - the young son of Simba and Nala who assembles a group of animals to protect the Pride Lands * Simba (voiced by Rob Lowe) - the king of the Pride Lands, and the father of Kion and Kiara * Nala (voiced by Gabrielle Union) - the queen of the Pride Lands, and the mother of Kion and Kiara * Kiara (voiced by Eden Riegel) - the future queen of the Pride Lands, and the older sister of Kion * Rafiki (voiced by Khary Payton) - the shaman of the Pride Lands * Zazu (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - the majordomo of the Pride Lands * Timon (voiced by Kevin Schon) - a meerkat who is a childhood friend of Simba * Pumbaa (voiced by Ernie Sabella) - a warthog who is a childhood friend of Simba * Mufasa (voiced by James Earl Jones) - the father of Simba who died in the original film * Bunga (voiced by Joshua Rush) - a honey badger who is part of the Lion Guard * Fuli (voiced by Diamond White) - a cheetah who is part of the Lion Guard * Beshte (voiced by Dusan Brown) - a hippo who is part of the Lion Guard * Ono (voiced by Atticus Shaffer) - an egret who is part of the Lion Guard * Mzingo (voiced by Greg Ellis) - a currently unknown character * Tiifu (voiced by Sarah Hyland) - a currently unknown character * Zuri (voiced by Madison Pettis) - a currently unknown character * Janja (voiced by Andrew Kishino) - a cunning hyena * Cheezi (voiced by Vargus Mason) - a currently unknown character * Chungu (voiced by Kevin Schon) - a currently unknown character * Twiga (voiced by Alex Cartañá)http://www.alexcartana.tv/reacutesumeacute.html - a currently unknown character Development The series' announcement came after a meeting between Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter and Disney chief executive Robert Iger. Iger suggested to Kanter that Disney Junior should consider producing content to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of The Lion King in 2014. Disney has shown early footage to young test audiences, who were able to make suggestions, such as adjusting the look of the hyenas. Disney Consumer Products is to launch a line of toys to tie into the television series. Seven new books inspired by the series are slated to be released in early 2016: Bunga the Wise, Can't Wait to be Queen, Follow That Hippo!, Kion's Animal Alphabet, Meet the New Guard, Not So Different, and Return of the Roar. A sneak peek of the show was given at Disney's D23 Expo from August 14–16, 2015. Accessed on 11 June 2015. References Category:Media Category:Television Shows